NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Damping emission spikes

Siemens new Clean-Ramp addresses the problem of emission spikes due to the constant ramping up and down of combustion turbines in modern plants. “We guarantee emissions out of the stack while others guarantee emissions at the engine,” said Bonnie Marini, Siemens’ Director 60 Hz Product Line Marketing, Energy Solutions. “We control what comes out of the engine in order to more closely control overall emissions.”

This new feature has been added to the Siemens Flex-Plant 30 design to enable it to remain in compliance while load following renewables. It achieves this by integrating the control of the gas turbine and SCR to enable low total plant emissions while ramping up and down. www.energy.siemens.com

New training programs

Dresser-Rand is offering a comprehensive list of product training programs in 2013 designed to help clients reduce equipment maintenance costs and ensure product reliability. Product training is offered for centrifugal compressors, gas turbines, steam turbines, low-speed process gas reciprocating compressors, high-speed separable gas field compressors and control systems. The company is also offering on site, custom training tailored to the client’s desired class dates, student mix (operators, mechanics, engineers and so on), experience level, and machine-specific technical information. Web-based training that emphasizes machine reliability, repair and troubleshooting will also be available. www.dresser-rand.com

Leak detection

The MDE-2000 Marksman II is an ultrasonic diagnostic tool that converts and amplifies inaudible ultrasonic sound into audible “natural” sound. It is said to allow a technician to “hear” even the smallest compressed air, natural gas, vacuum, steam, or other pressurized leak before they lead to major breakdowns. The receiver uses heterodyne circuitry that fine tunes audible sound into a natural sound emitted by the leak. A 5-LED signal intensity indicator and audible alarm pinpoint the exact source of the problem. The Marksman II comes with an ultrasonic receiver, fullsized headphones, hollow-air and solid-contact probes and ultrasonic emitter all packed in a carrying case. www.spectroline.com

New GT oil

ExxonMobil Fuel, Lubricants & Specialties has released Mobil DTE 932 GT, a new gas turbine oil that has been designed to enhance the performance of frame size combustion gas turbines. With a common hydraulic and bearing oil reservoir, Mobil DTE 932 GT is formulated to combat the formation of varnish. During testing, Mobil DTE 932 GT met or exceeded the standards for GE frame 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 turbines.

“Varnish can have a significant detrimental impact on gas turbine operation, but Mobil DTE 932 GT offers the potential for greatly reduced varnish formation,” said Yan Côté, global business development advisor, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties. “Other performance benefits of Mobil DTE 932 GT include high temperature performance, deposit control, foam control and air release.” www.exxonmobil.com

Consulting service

Designed to help power plants upgrade and improve performance of their aging control systems, Invensys Operations Management has launched a new consulting service. The service provides a holistic approach to justifying modernization costs, reducing risk, deploying advanced technology and approaching plant upgrades strategically and systematically. www.invensys.com

Fuel Meter

The FM50 Fuel Meter offers a simple-to-install option than can provide instantaneous flow or totalized flow over a period of hours, days or months. It provides “true” mass flow calculation, which corrects for temperature or pressure fluctuations. Data can be stored locally on a USB portable drive or can be transmitted via Modbus, Ethernet, Sat or Cell Modem, or via a 2.6 Ghz wireless radio. www.continentalcontrols.com

MHI M501JAC

MHI has developed the M501JAC gas turbine, an air-cooled version of the steam-cooled J-Series introduced in 2009. The M501JAC features reduced start-up time, while maintaining the same level of performance as the M501J. The modified model provides operational flexibility by detaching the gas turbine from the bottoming cycle. The shipment of the first M501JAC is expected in 2015. The M501JAC has an output of 310 MW and an efficiency rating above 41%. In combined cycle mode, that rises to 450 MW and 61%. www.mhi.co.jp/en/

Mobile application

Ludeca has released a new version of its “Laser Align” mobile application. The app is available in the iTunes Store for both iPhone and iPad; as well as in Google Play for the Android market. The application now has an interactive Tolerance Table, where the user can input his own machine RPM and the app will kick back the respective Alignment Tolerances for both short flex and spacer type couplings. It also includes a Thermal Growth Calculator and now has a Soft Foot Assistant to help the user interpret soft foot values. The app is free and available everywhere. www.ludeca.com

Powering Versailles

Centrax installed the first Siemens CX400 gas turbine package since the two companies forged an agreement that enables Centrax to market the SGT-300 and -400 gas turbines in the UK, France, Italy the Netherlands and Belgium. This 12MW unit is now meeting 40% of the hot water demand of the French city of Versailles, while producing electricity for sale to the French power utility EDF. The contract brings the total number of generator sets packaged by Centrax for the European market to more than 320. Siemens gas turbines complement Centrax’s current product choice, with a range of between 2.1MW and 64MW. www.centraxgt.com

Gaming at Siemens

Siemens will launch the Power Matrix Browser Game in April. One starts the game by taking office as the energy manager in a rural region in which a future city is set to develop. Before growth can begin, the energy manager must establish and secure the necessary power supply. The manager starts with a budget that he or she can invest in a gas and steam power plant, solar thermal plant, wind farm or other power generation system. As the population increases and power demand soars, the manager must address the challenges. If he or she plans well, uses existing resources wisely, they will have success in the game. www.powermatrixgame.com

Fluid monitoring

Spectro, Inc. SpectroTrack, Version 2.0 provides a historical view of fluid conditions for a single piece of equipment or an entire fleet. The information provided includes trending, imaging, numerical and textual data. Lab and maintenance personnel can spot trends and conduct maintenance routines before mechanical problems arise. www.spectroinc.com

Monitoring system

Meggitt Sensing Systems has introduced a partial discharge (PD) monitoring system. The system monitors, logs and reports PD activity in the generators, motors and cabling systems used in industrial power generation. This capability boosts the division’s Vibro-Meter power generation monitoring products, which include machinery protection and condition monitoring systems and sensors for hydro, steam and gas turbines.

A partial discharge is a localized electrical discharge in an insulation system that does not completely bridge electrodes, usually occurring in voids and gaps in high-voltage insulation. PDs are a leading indicator of insulation breakdown that can lead to destruction of the generator. Meggitt’s PD solution provides early detection of PD pulses, using coupling capacitors for direct measurements; an interface to enable existing RTDs (resistance temperature detectors) embedded in the windings to be used as additional PD sensors; and either a permanent or portable monitoring module, both of which come with PDSight software for analysis and identification of trends. www.meggittsensingsystems.com.